back to index2021-07-11 Sawako Yamaji Baptism Testimony
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Hi, I'm Sawako Yamaji, so let me present my testimony. 00:00:10.800 |
So I was born and raised in Japan and moved to United States four years ago for my job 00:00:17.020 |
I first heard about Christ when I was middle school, and I remained interested about Christianity 00:00:25.800 |
I attended a Christian school for 10 years from middle school to college in Japan. 00:00:31.520 |
When I was in my third year of middle school, I was strongly impressed by a pastor's sermon. 00:00:38.300 |
The sermon was based on 1 Corinthians chapter 3, "For we are God's fellow workers, you 00:00:53.040 |
The pastor told us that we always need to do our best in daily life because we live 00:01:00.740 |
That gave meaning to every question I had at that time, such as what is the purpose 00:01:12.000 |
After I heard that, I started to go to a church outside of the school and started to read 00:01:20.160 |
However, I didn't have many friends or family members to talk about Christianity or the 00:01:26.920 |
Bible, and I was also hesitant to speak to others about how I felt about Christianity. 00:01:35.680 |
As I reflect on my life now, maybe I cared too much about the people and events around 00:01:42.200 |
me and couldn't focus on what Christianity meant or how it could impact my life. 00:01:49.760 |
During that time, I was attracted to the teaching of God, and I am thankful that I was introduced 00:01:55.640 |
to Christianity early on, even though I didn't have a saving faith in the gospel yet. 00:02:03.880 |
After I graduated college, I stopped attending church until I came to Bel Air in Irvine. 00:02:10.280 |
During that period, my interests were largely focused on my work. 00:02:15.400 |
My attitude toward others, especially my co-workers, was kind of competitive, and even when my 00:02:24.080 |
friends and family gave me helpful advice, I was resistant. 00:02:29.620 |
At that time, I was just focusing on how to be better than others, how to improve my career, 00:02:39.960 |
I was turning away from God for a long time, and my attitude toward others and my relationship 00:02:50.920 |
I regret my selfishness and the time without God, and I won't go back to that time. 00:02:59.800 |
After spending time without God, I returned to Bel Air Community Church in Irvine. 00:03:05.000 |
Through the Bible, sermons, and communication with church members, I realized how sinful 00:03:13.040 |
I was during the time I stopped attending church. 00:03:17.520 |
Even though Christ gave me a chance to come to Him when I was a student, I didn't follow 00:03:25.960 |
And I realized the way I was communicating with others was very selfish and self-centered. 00:03:32.680 |
Jesus always gave me great instructions about how to live life. 00:03:37.360 |
I regret that I had lived without God, and I tried to be humble, be kind, love others, 00:03:49.440 |
In Matthew 6:33 in the Bible, it says, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, 00:04:01.720 |
By following these words from the Bible, I realized that my relationship with others 00:04:12.000 |
I felt everything in my life was very tough to deal with, but after I changed the way 00:04:17.480 |
to think and my behavior, everything turned out well. 00:04:22.960 |
I'm thankful that after spending a sinful life without God, God still forgave me after 00:04:38.000 |
Now I really appreciated Jesus' mercifulness and trust in Him, so I really wanted to show 00:04:44.720 |
my commitment to following Christ's path for my life that I need. 00:04:50.920 |
I have been praying for forgiveness of my many years of sins. 00:04:54.880 |
Moreover, I am grateful that He died on the cross to show that He had taken all my sins. 00:05:02.640 |
And He came back to life to verify that His work on the cross was complete. 00:05:08.180 |
For these reasons, I would like to be baptized. 00:05:12.520 |
And after receiving Christ, I felt that I could be more open-minded and communicate 00:05:20.440 |
Moreover, I trust Jesus and no longer have any hesitation to share my honest feelings 00:05:31.280 |
In conclusion, I confess my time without God and ask forgiveness for my sins. 00:05:42.960 |
As such, I would like to turn away from sin and turn towards God. 00:05:48.200 |
To further pursue my life in God, I would like to express my faith in Jesus and be baptized.